The situation in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces made a surprise large-scale incursion days before, has been upgraded to a "federal emergency," the Emergency Situations Ministry said on Aug. 9.
Russia said that as of Aug. 8, battles are ongoing in the Sudzhansky (Sudzha) and Korenevsky (Korenevo) border districts of Kursk Oblast. Sudzha is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Ukraine, while the city of Kursk lies 85 kilometers (53 miles) to the northeast of Sudzha.
Two days prior, Alexey Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk Oblast, declared a "state of emergency" in the oblast and said the situation remained "very difficult."
The Emergency Situations Ministry said that a "federal-level of response" would be directed at the region, but did not specify what that entailed.
Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat unit fighting for Russia, said in a video on Aug. 8 that Ukrainian forces had advanced around 10 kilometers into Kursk Oblast as of Aug. 7 in a rare admission of military setbacks for Russia.
According to Russian media, several thousand people have been reportedly evacuated from Kursk Oblast.
The state-owned train operator Moscow Railway said on Aug. 8 that the railway stations in Sudzha, Korenevo, and Psel are "temporarily closed to passengers."
Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed on Aug. 8 that residents of Kursk Oblast displaced by fighting would receive 10,000 rubles ($115) in compensation.
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done." He did not directly mention the incursion into Kursk Oblast.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
